Well a year ago I thought I would like try skeet (limited trap skills no skeet other DVD watching Bender) and for some reason unknown to me now, I bought a Rem 1100 sporting 20 ga, thinking I would use that for skeet. Well then now a year later and I haven't even shot it. I now wonder if it would be best to sell it NIB and get a 12ga (o/u or semi aside) or ???

Many skeet shooters shot 20 gauge guns in both the 12 and 20 gauge events. I used to think that I was not recoil sensitive, but my 20 gauge average was always better than my 12 gauge average.

I had a friend load me up a box of 12 gauge shells with half with powder and half without. I was surprised how much flinching I was doing when shooting the 12 gauge.

My suggestion is to go shoot a 20 gauge, even if you borrow one so yours stays a virgin and see how you do before you sell your 20 gauge that will require some loss even NIB and additional purchase price of a 12 gauge.

Bob

_________________Robert KittineNew York, New York & Sag Harbor, New York

I agree with Bob. My best scores are in 28ga. You don’t need more than a 20ga to break skeet targets and in the long run may very well do better. There are many shooters affected by recoil, but perhaps not as many aware of it.

A 20 gauge is ample for NSSA Skeet. Some shooters use 20 ga in the 12 ga event because it kicks less and to avoid taking the tubes out of their O/U which would change the balance and increase the recoil even more.

A 20 gauge will break ATA Trap targets but I when I was a frequent trapshooter I never saw one in serious competition. Although we did have one guy who had a 20 gauge tube made for his trap gun so as to spare his injured shoulder. That before the light 12 gauge loads now available got common.

Thanks so much for your help to all of you. You helped so much. I think I originally bought it because I of recoil and weight but got off track and took off on a pistol shooting direction and forgot what fun @ camaraerie clays brought to me. I know years ago my first experience hunting was a Fox B single trigger sxs in 20 for pheasants. Then my first shoot at trap was Mossberg 500 in 20ga. Then I saw that many skeet shooters use 20ga as well.... What the heck and off I go again LOL I really want to get back the FUN so thanks for helping me. Vic

Well a year ago I thought I would like try skeet (limited trap skills no skeet other DVD watching Bender) and for some reason unknown to me now, I bought a Rem 1100 sporting 20 ga, thinking I would use that for skeet. Well then now a year later and I haven't even shot it. I now wonder if it would be best to sell it NIB and get a 12ga (o/u or semi aside) or ???

If you're just going to let the gun sit at home unfired, then it wouldn't matter what gauge or kind it is. One gun would do just as well as the other at sitting at home unfired.

BUT, since you are now thinking of actually shooting the gun, then I would suggest that you go ahead and shoot the gun that you now have. This will let you know how well you actually like the shooting or fun aspect of shooting, and it will also let you know what it's like to shoot that particular gun.

It might turn out that you like both the shooting/fun and the actual gun you already have. In which case, you don't need to do anything other than continue to enjoy the sport with that gun. If it turns out that you don't care for the shooting/fun, then it won't matter which gun you have. OTOH, if it turns out that you like the shooting/fun, but would like it better with a different gun, then you could/should consider selling it and buying a different gun.

If it were me, I wouldn't sell the gun without firing it unless I were absolutely sure that I didn't want to shoot the sport of skeet or whatever. As others have said, you're already going to take a hit on depreciation of the gun, so firing a few boxes of shells through it isn't going to make much, if any, difference in the amount you could sell it for.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

_________________Please post For Sale items in the proper Classified section.

Semi-Auto Classifieds is ONLY for Complete Semi-Auto shotguns.Over/Under Classifieds is ONLY for Complete O/U shotguns.Items other than a complete shotgun go in OTHER Classifieds.

Ulysses that makes more sense than my sense Sometimes it just takes someone to look at the "problem" and help confirm what you have been thinking but I was just concerned that I would make a mistake "twice". Glad you fellas helped slow me down and think a bit! Thanks I will probably be headed to skeet range as beginner that I am and having FUN shooting and remember I need to crawl before I can walk or run.... Vic

I started with a 20 gauge, because that's what I had. I got pretty good and just knew I could break more targets with a 12 gauge. Guess what? I didn't. So, for the past 20 years, at least, I've hardly shot the 12 gauge except for what bit of trap and sporting clays I've shot. Nowadays, at skeet, I run a rotation through all the gauges. 12's get shot the least. For every 100 12 gauge's I shoot, there will be 700 of the smaller gauges shot. Result? I have higher averages with the 20 and 28 than with the 12. On balance, what I'm saying is you'll not be underserved shooting the 20 gauge you already have.

If you buy an over/under, and sooner or later you will, you should buy a 12ga. The 12ga is the more versatile gun. You can load 3/4 oz, 7/8 oz, 1oz, and 9/8 oz and all these loads do a superb job on skeet targets. If later on, you want to tube your gun to shoot the sub gauges, as many of us have done, the 12ga is the best gun for that purpose. I have a friend who won the Texas 12ga state skeet championship twice using 7/8 oz 12ga handloads.

The 20 gauge is no handicap for the game of skeet. As others have said...go get some ammo and get out there and start breaking some targets. Might even want to try taking a lesson or three so that you get started well.

Everyone that has responded to my post has been some of the best confidence building encouragement! Phenomenal.... just do it and stop trying to over think it (as I so often do) thanks and maybe I will post first beginner scores next week.

Everyone that has responded to my post has been some of the best confidence building encouragement! Phenomenal.... just do it and stop trying to over think it (as I so often do) thanks and maybe I will post first beginner scores next week.

Don't worry about scores. Just enjoy the shooting and have fun.

_________________Please post For Sale items in the proper Classified section.

Semi-Auto Classifieds is ONLY for Complete Semi-Auto shotguns.Over/Under Classifieds is ONLY for Complete O/U shotguns.Items other than a complete shotgun go in OTHER Classifieds.